There’s something to be said about shooting a fire-spewing handgun. Specifically, most people don’t want one. Should they?
This is not the first compensated/ported GLOCK. Back in the day, Gaston’s gang sold a compensated Gen3 GLOCK 19. It was not a hit. In fact, I only saw it once in the hands of a southern gentleman whose neck may have been a certain shade of crimson.
GLOCK ships the 19C Gen4 in the standard plastic lunchbox with three magazines, a loader, cleaning tools, lock, back straps and the standard manual (that I read from cover to cover).
As you’d expect, the 19C is about as visually distinct from the standard 19 as one Olsen twin is from the other. Aside from the “made in the USA” roll stamp, the slide and barrel are what set the gun apart from the standard model.
GLOCK’s machined a small angled slit into to the top of the chamber, right where the slide and the chamber meet. I’m guessing that it reduces friction on the compensated model. (It sure isn’t a style thing.)
There are two slits about a quarter inch apart at about the midway point between the GLOCK 19C’s chamber and the muzzle. As you know, these allow the gasses to escape out the top of the slide when the gun’s fired. The basic idea; those escaping gasses reduce muzzle rise and recoil.
Given that we’re talking about a 9mm handgun, is this an answer to a question nobody asked? OK, not nobody. Somebody who couldn’t manage the 19’s “heavy” recoil. I’ve never had a problem with it. I’ve trained hundreds of shooters with 19’s and never once thought to myself, you know what this gun needs? Less recoil!
That said, it’s always nicer to have less recoil. It should make it easier to maintain a sight picture between shots, enabling faster shooting with the same degree of accuracy, if not more.
Shooting the GLOCK 19C, I felt a slight but noticeable difference in muzzle rise. Still, after 800 rounds, I discovered that I wasn’t shooting the 19C any faster or more accurately than a standard 19. YMMV but I doubt it.
This lack of advantage comes with a drawback. Shooting subsonic Cap Arms 9mm 115gr FMJ, I experienced a double feed malfunction every few rounds. This didn’t occur shooting the same ammo through my standard Gen4 19, or when I fed the 19C some Sellier & Bellot 115 gr FMJ or Remington 115 gr JHP.
As you might expect, shooting the 19C from the retention position (close to the hip) has it challenges. The hot gasses expelled against my body were noticeably uncomfortable. After a few hundred rounds, the gasses dirtied the front sight to the point where it was obscuring the forward white dot.
The 19C’s accuracy was average for the pistol, comparable to the standard GLOCK 19. Shooting from a supported benched position at 25 yards, the average group size was roughly four inches, regardless of the ammo fired. At extended distances of 50 yards, accuracy was also consistent on C- zone steel.
A lot of people shun compensated pistols; they fear shooting one at night will blind them. And they’re absolutely right. Shooting the 19C in the dark I was surprised by just how much I was blinded by the flash. Every round fired created two giant fireballs that eliminated my night vision for at least five seconds.
For me, that makes the GLOCK 19C a non-starter. If you don’t use your GLOCK at night and feel that the standard gun’s recoil is too much, then the 19C is for you. But I’m thinking it isn’t.
SPECIFICATIONS: GLOCK 19C Gen 4
Caliber: 9mm
Length: 7.28 inches
Barrel Length: 4.01 inches
Width: 1.18 inches
Height: 4.99 inches
Weight: (loaded): 30.18 inches
Price: ~$580
RATINGS (out of five stars):
Reliability * * * *
Lightly loaded ammunition doesn’t cycle consistently. Everything else goes bang every time.
Accuracy * * * *
Standard for a stock GLOCK
Aesthetics * * *
It’s a GLOCK…what else is there to say?
Ergonomics * * * *
Very similar to the G19 – larger magazine release, back-straps options for the grip, finger grooves
Overall * * * 1/2
Overall it’s a decent pistol. For me it missed the mark in its intended use – a compact defensive gun. The flash issue at night along with the discomfort of retention shooting was an issue.